A specialized plane, camera, and a crew of four are in Alaska to understand the ecosystems of the Bering and Chukchi Seas. Jiaxu Zhang is a research scientist at the University of Washington, and for the last four summers she’s brought a team of researchers to Nome for the Arctic Airborne Investigations and Research project, or Arctic AIR for short.
“Arctic AIR does all sorts of research, ranging from physical oceanography to sea ice surveys to phytoplankton studies and remote sensing. And sometimes we also onboard some observers to do some marine mammal surveys,” Zhang explained.
Zhang said one of the team’s main objectives is to monitor algal blooms. Algae is a critical part of the ocean’s ecosystem, but species like Alexandrium Catenella can be harmful to human health and marine ecosystems. Zhang said data collected by Arctic AIR is used in research tracking the growth of algae in the arctic.
Another goal of the project is to develop cutting-edge buoys packed with sensors. This year's work began with deploying buoys in Prudhoe Bay, about 500 miles north of Fairbanks. The buoys are dropped from Arctic AIR’s plane and track conditions in the ocean.
Anuscheh Nawaz is a principal research scientist and engineer at the University of Washington. She specializes in ocean sensors and this was her first expedition with Arctic AIR.
“Buoys are, like, our fingertips in the ocean. Like you want to sense what's going on in the ocean, and you can't physically be there all the time,” Nawaz said. “So, we send out buoys, in our stead, to collect data about the ocean and how it's changing.”
Arctic AIR’s team flies aboard NOAA’s De Havilland DHC-6-300 — more commonly known as the “Twin Otter.” One of the project's pilots, Sean Cheng, said the aircraft's performance at low speeds makes it a good fit for the mission.
“That makes it really easy to control when it comes to, you know, at those little airspeeds that we need to be at for survey conditions,” Cheng said.
At the bottom of the craft is a hyperspectral camera, which points down to the water below while flying at high altitudes. The camera is powerful enough to distinguish between different types of algae.
“The hyperspectral work that we've done here is really to collect ocean color data and try to understand the different phytoplankton groups, whether there are harmful species here or there are other species that are not harmful,” Zhang said.
Zhang and Nawaz both stressed that their work on a broader scale is observing the changing climate. Nawaz said the global importance of her work is just one reason she’s thrilled to be part of Arctic AIR.
“I feel honored that I can be part of, like, this mission of looking at what has changed, and how can we help humanity live in a changing climate?” Nawaz said.
Zhang said the project is an open science platform where other researchers can hop on to test instruments and survey ideas. This year’s expedition had the team stopping in Prudhoe Bay, Nome, and then Kotzebue before wrapping up in late September.
Arctic AIR is a collaboration between the University of Washington's Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystems Studies and NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. Funding is provided by NOAA's Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing.
